Another famous old seed brand is being retired-in this case, for the second time.
Syngenta has announced plans to drop the Garst name from its seed lineup. Starting with the 2014 season, Golden Harvest will be the only seed corn brand available through Syngenta's seed advisor network.
Syngenta's Colin Steen says it was a tough decision, considering the rich history and heritage of the Garst Brand.
"At the end of the day though, what it really came down to for us was the name `Golden Harvest' in and of itself-that name and the promise that it delivers, and the branding potential that name has," Steen says.
But even though the Garst brand is being phased out, Steen says elements of it will live on in a new Golden Harvest logo.
"The new logo will have elements of both the prior logos from Garst and Golden Harvest incorporated in it, reflecting on the histories of both brands from the past and especially bringing in some of the blue from the Garst legacy brands as well," Steen says.
According to the Encycopedia.com web site, the Garst name has been a part of the seed business since 1931, when the Garst and Thomas Hi-Bred Corn Company was founded. The Garst brand was retired once before-in 1991-when the name was changed to ICI Seeds. Garst Seed was re-established in 1996 and Syngenta acquired the brand in 2004.
Source: brownfieldagnews.com